Clearlake

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The largest natural freshwater lake located entirely within California, situated in the Coast Ranges north of San Francisco ; a small city on the shore of that lake in Lake County, California
2. A large natural lake in northern California known for its fishing and recreation ; a town in Lake County that sits on the edge of this same body of water
3. The biggest lake found wholly inside California, lying in the Coast Ranges ; a community in Lake County situated on the banks of that lake

Etymology: Clearlake is a city in Lake County, California, on the shore of Clear Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake located entirely within the state. The town took its name from the lake, so the story begins with the lake's own name, a plain English compound of "clear," meaning transparent, and "lake." The adjective "clear" came into English from Old French "clair," which descends from Latin "clarus," meaning bright or shining. The sense of clean, transparent water developed over time from this idea of brightness. Spanish-speaking explorers and settlers in the region had earlier called the lake by other names, such as "Laguna de Santa Clara," but the English descriptive name is the one that stuck, and the town's name follows it directly.